Co-op Financial Services has announced the availability of Co-op Sprig, a free, multi-institution "virtual branch," accessed online or via mobile, that lets members make person-to-person payments and aggregate their accounts in a single portal.

An in-network solution, Co-op Sprig allows members to make transfers between, or payments to, savings, checking or loan accounts residing at any credit union that participates in Co-op Shared Branching or Co-op Connect, the switch that enables Co-op Sprig.

Transfers are performed on the real-time good funds availability model, so members can immediately verify that funds have been moved to the destination account.

This initial release of Co-op Sprig supports in-network me-to-me and me-to-you payments, as well as remote deposit capture via Apple iPhone. Future phases of the service will include out-of-network me-to-anyone payments, a point-of-sale option and RDC via Android smartphones.

Stan Hollen, president and CEO of Co-op Financial Services, said that Co-op sprig has already been adopted by several CUs in a soft launch of the product.

Jim McCarthy, president and CEO of Northwest Resource FCU, which took part in the soft launch, said that implementing Co-op Sprig was "extremely easy" for both the CU and its members.

"The clean and easy-to-use interface can be accessed from a mobile phone or tablet or PC, providing members with account access from virtually anywhere," he said.

Another soft launch participant, Cal Center Credit Union, has used Co-op Sprig to accommodate the lifestyles and needs of younger members.

"Without the mobile product, we would not have been able to capture this market as soon as we would have wanted to," said Linda Pettit, CEO of Cal Center Credit Union.

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